Thursday, 22 May 2014

Done with all the training and paper works
and now it’s time to enjoy the lovely city and do some work. Next couple of day
we hangout, visited different places, tasted some local foods and most
importantly made some friends.

My Sochi 2014 Paralympic Team. Best team ever!!!

I did my first shift on 30th of
March 2014, it was a 9-6 shift and we literally did not do anything. One or two
guests came and we were over 10 people in there to serve 2/3 guests. Not a very
good start as I was expecting more works.

Sochi 2014 Olympic Park!!!

And it continued until the games actually
started. Not enough work to keep myself motivated but we enjoyed our time by
playing different types of games throughout the time. Sometimes we went out to
see some matches.

In front of Bolshoy Ice Dome. Sochi 2014!!!

I got my first free ticket for the Alpine
Skiing at Sochi Biathlon Track. I and Sveta went to see the competition. It was
an amazing experience and I had the first Russian snow experience. Great day out
at the end!!!

Flags. Sochi 2014 Torch!!!

The opening ceremony for Sochi 2014
Paralympic Games was amazing and I enjoyed it on television at the dining hall with
my colleagues. Good start though for the Games.

Sochi 2014 Flame!!!

My second free ticket was for the similar
Game and gave it to one of my colleague. But third and final free ticket was
for Curling and the stadium was not far from my workplace. Went and saw half of
the Game as I was not enjoying!!!

Friday, 9 May 2014

Sochi is one of the most beautiful cities I
have seen so far. Mountain, forests, sea, and beach!!! What else do you need!!!
We went to the city center by Lastochka electric train. Lastochka trains was
unveiled Russian Railways which has a capacity of 800 passengers and can run a
maximum speed of 160KM/hour.

Alina, At Lastochka Train. On our way to Sochi City.

Any way went to the city center with my
colleagues. We had to take a local bus to get to a local supermarket. I was
expecting to use any public transport without paying as I did in London. But unfortunately
it was not the case. We had to pay for using local transport!!! But not every
time. You have to carry cash if you want to use any public transport. Paying by
bank cards/electronic card is not usual.

At Sochi Train station.

Anyway we went to a big market and had some
food and came home late. Had an awesome day.

Sochi River. On our way to a shopping center at Sochi.

Anna informed me that we will have our
venue specific training on next morning. We decided to meet at the dining area
next morning to have our breakfast and go from there.

Sochi 2014.

Next morning after having breakfast we went
to the Olympic Village for our training. First of all we had our venue
specific training then functional training. At the venue specific training it was
almost as identical as the one we had for London 2012 Olympic Games.

Main Press Center. On our way for training!!!

At the role specific training they showed
us what we will be doing during the games. We had few international volunteers
came from west. Have not seen anyone from East. They have tried their best to
translate. It was a great day as well.

Monday, 5 May 2014

Internet facility at our hotel was limited
and we had only one Wi-Fi router at the reception. I was staying at 1st
floor and was getting some signals from the router. Anyway checked my email at
night to see whether anyone from my team contacted me for the next step i.e.
uniform collection. My team leader Anna sent me an email saying that I should
meet them at the dining area next morning (26th February 2014). Was
really excited.

And finally we are here to collect our uniforms and Accreditation

Spent the rest of the day with my new
roommate, took some pictures and had a detail chat about my favorite topic. My
first day at Sochi was awesome. Went to bed early as I was really tired and did
not want to be late for next morning.

With my team!!! After collecting our Accreditation.

Next morning!!! Big day!!! Woke up early
and realized that I have lost my key for my main luggage. Sweet!!!

With my team!!! After collecting our Accreditation.

Anyway went to the dining room and met my
team. Honestly my first impression about my team was really good. We introduced
ourselves and decided to go and collect our uniforms and accreditation. Took
WF8 and went to the UDAC (uniform distribution and accreditation center). It
was not organized properly. There were too many lines in there and we were not
sure about our one.

We
were confused. I asked one of my team mate and he replied because it’s Russia!!!

With Kristina from Sochi, Russia. Volunteered with transport.

Although it was a long process and we had
to spend a lot of time in the queue, still it was the most memorable time of my
Sochi 2014 journey. Met with lot of people from all over Russia, took lot of
pictures and had a good time.

Collected our uniforms and accreditation
cards and decided to go to the city center in the evening.